Adaptive capabilities of children with autism and their connection with neurophysiological correlates

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) represent a disorder with an incidence of 1% in the juvenile population. Insufficient studied etiology and lacking in evidence based therapeutic procedures, represent part of the challenges associated with ASD. Adaptive capabilities of children with autism are often impaired and depend on many factors, some of which are neurophysiological in nature. The study aim was to compare patients with pathological changes in EEG with epileptic and non-epileptic recordings to different levels of adaptive capabilities of children with ASD. Material and Methods: In this study EEG readings were used in the sleep and awake state for the assessment of the presence and the type of abnormality of the reading. EEG questionnaire was developed for the purpose of this research to record the characteristics of EEG readings and neurological manifestations. For the evaluation of the adaptive capabilities Vineland II scale was used. Results: A statistically significant difference exist between the examined groups in all domains assessed by Vineland II scale. 44.7 % of patients had some form of pathological EEG records or epilepsy. The most represented types of seizures was primary generalized tonic clonic attacks. Conclusion: There was a statistically significant difference between the examined groups in all domains. Patients with epilepsy tend to obtain the lowest scores in all examined domains. These results may be used for the potential identification of prognostic factors and to show the value of antiepileptic therapy as an alternative for children with autism spectrum disorders

The adolescent brain: Changes and challenges of development

Adolescence is a period between childhood and adulthood, characterized by specific physical and psychological development. It is a transitional developmental period, rather than a single snapshot in time. Traditional neurobiological and cognitive explanations of adolescent development of behavior have failed to account for the changes in behavior observed during adolescence. Magnetic resonance imaging studies have discovered that myelinogenesis continues from childhood to adulthood in the brain's region-specific neurocircuitry, which remains structurally and functionally vulnerable to impulsive habits. The maturation of the adolescent brain is influenced by heredity, environment, and sex, and they play a crucial role in myelination. Furthermore, one of the measures extracted out of MRI studies is also the thickness of cerebral cortex, a part that harbors synapses. It is the complexity of these synapses that allows humans to generate and understand complex thoughts and feelings in the real world, including the ability to solve analogies. And it is the complexity of those connections, remaining under construction during adolescence, that may be responsible for immature and impulsive behavior and neurobehavioral excitement during the adolescent life

Flowers in the attic – adverse childhood experiences and their relations with life-outcome

This is an introductory abstract for other papers within this symposium, which are all part of the same study, Research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) in Serbia. ACE is a traumatic experience in one’s life occurring before the age of 18 that the person remembers as an adult. The purpose of this survey was to explore the prevalence of ACEs and their correlates on a sample of 18-65 years old in Serbia. We used multistage random sampling, with a stratified cluster sample in the first (187 settlements were sampled from 4 regions), and random sample in the second stage (a random-walk technique for sampling participants). The final sample consisted of 2792 respondents (57.4% females), interviewed face-to-face. Instrument package included: ACE International Questionnaire, Health Appraisal, Family Health History, Trauma Symptom Checklist, Benevolent Childhood experience, Experiences in Close Relationships- Revised, HEXACO, DELTA9, and Non-suicidal self-injury. Each ACE was represented by a binary score, in two ways: (1) any ACE score implies that participant had a specific event at least “once or twice”; (2) frequent ACE implies that participant had specific events “many times”. Factor analysis, principal axis with varimax rotation extracted three dimensions: violence (involvement in physical fight, bullying, community violence, physical abuse, collective violence, psychological abuse), neglect (depression in family, suicide in family, psychological neglect, sexual abuse and parental separation) and abuse (alcoholism in family, abuse of mother or father by the partner, incarceration of family member, drug abuse in family and physical neglect). If we use ACEs as predictors of various life events in multiple regression analysis, the highest prediction is gained for a number of suicidal attempts (R2 = .53, F = 2.38; df = 17, 36; p < 0.05) - more ACEs lead to more attempts, with psychological neglect as strongest predictor. Most frequent ACEs in Serbia are community violence (any 69.4%; frequent 37.7%), psychological abuse (any 43.7%; frequent 26.3%), and involvement in a physical fight (any 37.7%; frequent 19.7%). For comparison, physical abuse and domestic violence appeared more frequently in Serbia than in Wales study, while parent separation and sexual abuse appeared a bit more frequently in Wales sample. Possible higher prevalence of This is an introductory abstract for other papers within this symposium, which are all part of the same study, Research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) in Serbia. ACE is a traumatic experience in one’s life occurring before the age of 18 that the person remembers as an adult. The purpose of this survey was to explore the prevalence of ACEs and their correlates on a sample of 18-65 years old in Serbia. We used multistage random sampling, with a stratified cluster sample in the first (187 settlements were sampled from 4 regions), and random sample in the second stage (a random-walk technique for sampling participants). The final sample consisted of 2792 respondents (57.4% females), interviewed face-to-face. Instrument package included: ACE International Questionnaire, Health Appraisal, Family Health History, Trauma Symptom Checklist, Benevolent Childhood experience, Experiences in Close Relationships- Revised, HEXACO, DELTA9, and Non-suicidal self-injury. Each ACE was represented by a binary score, in two ways: (1) any ACE score implies that participant had a specific event at least “once or twice”; (2) frequent ACE implies that participant had specific events “many times”. Factor analysis, principal axis with varimax rotation extracted three dimensions: violence (involvement in physical fight, bullying, community violence, physical abuse, collective violence, psychological abuse), neglect (depression in family, suicide in family, psychological neglect, sexual abuse and parental separation) and abuse (alcoholism in family, abuse of mother or father by the partner, incarceration of family member, drug abuse in family and physical neglect). If we use ACEs as predictors of various life events in multiple regression analysis, the highest prediction is gained for a number of suicidal attempts (R2 = .53, F = 2.38; df = 17, 36; p < 0.05) - more ACEs lead to more attempts, with psychological neglect as strongest predictor. Most frequent ACEs in Serbia are community violence (any 69.4%; frequent 37.7%), psychological abuse (any 43.7%; frequent 26.3%), and involvement in a physical fight (any 37.7%; frequent 19.7%). For comparison, physical abuse and domestic violence appeared more frequently in Serbia than in Wales study, while parent separation and sexual abuse appeared a bit more frequently in Wales sample. Possible higher prevalence of This is an introductory abstract for other papers within this symposium, which are all part of the same study, Research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) in Serbia. ACE is a traumatic experience in one’s life occurring before the age of 18 that the person remembers as an adult. The purpose of this survey was to explore the prevalence of ACEs and their correlates on a sample of 18-65 years old in Serbia. We used multistage random sampling, with a stratified cluster sample in the first (187 settlements were sampled from 4 regions), and random sample in the second stage (a random-walk technique for sampling participants). The final sample consisted of 2792 respondents (57.4% females), interviewed face-to-face. Instrument package included: ACE International Questionnaire, Health Appraisal, Family Health History, Trauma Symptom Checklist, Benevolent Childhood experience, Experiences in Close Relationships- Revised, HEXACO, DELTA9, and Non-suicidal self-injury. Each ACE was represented by a binary score, in two ways: (1) any ACE score implies that participant had a specific event at least “once or twice”; (2) frequent ACE implies that participant had specific events “many times”. Factor analysis, principal axis with varimax rotation extracted three dimensions: violence (involvement in physical fight, bullying, community violence, physical abuse, collective violence, psychological abuse), neglect (depression in family, suicide in family, psychological neglect, sexual abuse and parental separation) and abuse (alcoholism in family, abuse of mother or father by the partner, incarceration of family member, drug abuse in family and physical neglect). If we use ACEs as predictors of various life events in multiple regression analysis, the highest prediction is gained for a number of suicidal attempts (R2 = .53, F = 2.38; df = 17, 36; p < 0.05) - more ACEs lead to more attempts, with psychological neglect as strongest predictor. Most frequent ACEs in Serbia are community violence (any 69.4%; frequent 37.7%), psychological abuse (any 43.7%; frequent 26.3%), and involvement in a physical fight (any 37.7%; frequent 19.7%). For comparison, physical abuse and domestic violence appeared more frequently in Serbia than in Wales study, while parent separation and sexual abuse appeared a bit more frequently in Wales sample. Possible higher prevalence of ACEs in our study might occur due to the context of the collective experience of wars, civil unrest, insecurity, etc.Knjiga rezimea / XXV naučni skup Empirijska istraživanja u psihologiji 29–31. mart 2019 The research was supported and fully funded by UNICEF, Serbi

Depressive symptoms, exposure to aggression and delinquency proneness in adolescence: Impact of two decades of war and political violence on adolescent mental health

Traumatic experiences in Serbia in the last two decades have caused significant psychological consequences in children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between depressive symptoms, exposure to aggression and delinquency proneness among high school and elementary school students in Belgrade, Serbia. The participants were 899 students (51.8% were female) with no prior treatment for psychological problems, with a mean age of 16.70±1.95. All used instruments were taken from the modified Social and Health Assessment (SAHA). Our findings show that delinquent behavior or exposure to delinquency was significantly related to depressive symptoms. The strongest predictors of depression were variables concerning legal consequences, affiliation with delinquent peers, victimization by community violence and peer victimization. This study confirmed a strong correlation between depression and exposure to violence. Identifying adolescents with depressive symptoms is important for prevention of serious mental health consequences

Psychopathology and resilience in relation to abuse in childhood among youth first referred to the psychiatrist

Uvod/Cilj. Zlostavljanje u detinjstvu može biti uzrok različitih psiholoških problema kod odraslih osoba. Malo se, međutim, zna o specifičnim kliničkim i porodičnim profilima, kao i karakteristikama rezilijentnosti adolescenata koji su doživeli zlostavljanje u detinjstvu. Cilj našeg rada bio je ispitivanje simptoma, porodičnog funkcionisanja i rezilijentnosti adolescenata sa iskustvom zlostavljanja u detinjstvu upućenih na psihijatrijski pregled. Metode. Uzorak se sastojao od 84 konsekutivno regrutovana mlada ispitanika (prosečne starosti 14,90 ± 3,10, u rasponu od 11 do 18 godina) upućena na prvi pregled u Kliniku za decu i omladinu Instituta za mentalno zdravlje u Beogradu, koji su na osnovu Matrice rizika za zlostavljanje i zanemarivanje dece bili podeljeni u dve grupe. Prvu grupu činili su adolescenti sa iskustvom zlostavljanja u detinjstvu (n = 38, 13 dečaka, 25 devojčica), a drugu, kontrolnu grupu, adolescenti bez iskustva zlostavljanja u detinjstvu (n = 47, 20 dečaka, 27 devojčica). U istraživanju su korišćeni sledeći upitnici: Upitnik za samoprocenu adolescenata (Youth Self-Report - YSR), Skala adolescentnih rezilijentnih stavova (Adolescent Resilience Attitudes Scale - ARAS) i Upitnik za porodicu, (Self-Report Family Inventory - SFI). Rezultati. Značajne razlike pronađene su kod adolescentkinja. Na upitniku YSR, zlostavljane adolescentkinje imale su značajno više skorove delinkventnog ponašanja i marginalno veće skorove anksioznosti/depresivnosti i socijalnih problema. Analize upitnika SFI pokazale su značajno lošije funkcionisanje kod zlostavljanih adolescentkinja u svim podskalama osim na podskali direktivnog vođstva. Na upitniku ARAS, zlostavljane adolescentkinje imale su značajno niže skorove na podskali uvida i marginalno niže skorove na podskali za inicijativu. Zaključak. Navedeni rezultati mogli bi imati praktičnu primenu pri planiranju specifičnih preventivnih strategija i tretmana koji se posebno fokusiraju na delinkventne tendencije kao i na jačanje rezilijentnosti obezbeđivanjem pozitivnog okruženja u okviru porodice, škole i zajednice.Background/Aim. Child abuse may be related to adverse psychological outcomes in adult life. However, little is known about specific clinical, family and resilience profiles of adolescents that have experienced child abuse. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical symptoms, family functioning and resilience characteristics of adolescents with the experience of abuse, first referred to psychiatrists. Methods. The study included 84 young participants (mean age 14.90 ± 3.10, ranging from 11 to 18 years) as consecutive first referrals to the Clinic for Children and Youth of the Institute of Mental Health, Belgrade, Serbia. The sample consisted of two groups, based on the Child Abuse Matrices of Risks. The first group included adolescents with the experience of abuse in childhood (n = 38, 13 males, 25 females), whereas the second, control group, comprised of non-abused adolescents (n = 47, 20 males, 27 females). The presence of abuse was evaluated by the Child Abuse Matrices of Risks. The study used the following questionnaires: Youth Self-Report (YSR), Adolescent Resilience Attitudes Scale (ARAS), and Self-Report Family Inventory (SFI). Results. Significant differences were found only among females. According to YSR, the abused girls had significantly higher scores on the Delinquent Behavior scale and marginally higher scores on Anxious/ Depressed and Social Problems scales. Analyses of the SFI showed significantly lower family functioning among the girls with the child abuse history for all scales except for the Directive Leadership. The abused girls also showed significantly lower scores on the Insight scale, and marginally lower Initiative scores at the ARAS. Conclusions. These findings may have practical application in the creation of specific preventive and treatment strategies, particularly focused on delinquent tendencies, as well as on enhancing resilience through providing positive environments within families, schools and communities

Serbian Language version of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised, with Follow-Up: Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Assessment of Reliability

Early detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has proven to be of high significance, however there is a limited availability of ASD screening tools in Serbian language. In this study we aim to translate, assess reliability and, in part, test the applicability of Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised, with Follow-Up (M-CHAT R/F) in Serbian Healthcare environment. We screened 128 children in three primary healthcare centres and 20 children in a tertiary psychiatric center, using M-CHAT R/F translated into Serbian language, between December 2014 and October 2015. At the end of the screening process 80% of participants in the risk group screened positive for ASD, while in the control group 4 (3.1%) participants screened positive, with a mean total scores of 8.25 and 0.66 respectively. The Cronbach's a coefficient was 0.91 and Guttman's.6 was 0.93. Test-retest reliability was deemed as acceptable, and no significant correlation was found between M-CHAT-R/F scores and Epworth Sleepiness Scale for children scores. The Serbian version of the M-CHAT-R/F has shown satisfactory reliability. We can therefore assert that it is a reliable tool for identifying ASD and it can be used in clinical practice to improve early detection, assessment and treatment

Abuse and neglect consequences in family of adolescents

Zlostavljanje i zanemarivanje dece i adolescenata predstavlja sve prisutniji fenomen u našoj populaciji. Do sada objavljeni radovi su se uglavnom bavili teorijskim proučavanjem ovog koncepta. U ovom radu proučavane su posledice zlostavljanja i zanemarivanja na grupi adolescenta (31) koji su tokom 2000-2002 godine dijagnostikovani i tretirani u okviru Odseka sa zaštitu dece od zlostavljanja i zanemarivanja pri Institutu za mentalno zdravlje. Primenjena je baterija psiholoških testova kojim je procenjivano mentalno funkcionisanje, karakteristike ličnosti kao i rezilijentnost adolescenata. Uočeno je da zlostavljani adolescenti pokazuju više anksioznosti i depresivnosti, somatske teškoće, socijalne probleme, probleme pažnje; oni imaju niže samopoštovanje, nižu rezilijentnost, a u njihovim porodicama postoji niža porodična kohezivnost i prisutan je veći broj konflikta. Rezultati ukazuju na neophodnost angažovanja stručnjaka u cilju kako pružanja stručne pomoći tako i omogućavanja zaštite od daljeg zlostavljanja i zanemarivanja.Abuse and neglect of children and adolescent are more and more present phenomenon in our population. Up to know published articles were mostly concern with theoretical analysis of these concepts. In this article we analyze the consequences of abuse and neglect in group of adolescent (31) who were during 2000-2002 diagnosed and treated within Department for child abuse and neglect protection at Institute for mental health. We apply the battery of psychological tests with whom we analyze mental functioning, the characterizes of personality functioning and resilience of adolescents. We noticed that abused adolescents have more anxiety and depression symptoms somatic complaints, social problems, and attention problems: they have lower self-esteem, lower resilience ant in their families there is lower family cohesion and more conflicts among family members. Results point on need for special attention of professionals in systematic professional help as well as in protection of further abuse and neglect